FeaturesLaure McCourt Lopez Interview with Dr. John Tweedie"The best example of how to live is Jesus of Nazareth. He lived a modest lifestyle and never really owned anything. Part of the problem we have today, at least where some television ministries are concerned, is the whole 'name it, claim it' approach to things. The emphasis is on the prize, it's what's in it for you as an individual, but the Gospel I read about is a relationship with God while being mindful of the needs of others. The prize is eternity with Jesus of Nazareth; it's not a multi-million dollar mansion or state of the art jet plane. I don't think God is against people prospering and doing well in life, but we ought to remember who we are, and we ought to remember that there are other people who are less fortunate than we are. We need to be mindful of those that are in need and then live a lifestyle that exemplifies the willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of other people."Feb 8, 2016 - 3:53:00 AM

Down the RoadAll stuck upI survived that hospital stay by watching workmen on a roof outside my window. They were replacing the roof above that roof on which they walked, and I got to watch them. Boy, such excitement. I also rediscovered that there is not much on TV worth watching. I was only too happy to escape and come home. Home is where, if you're feeling a tad weak, you can lie on the sofa instead of a hospital bed and rediscover there is not much worth watching on it. It's also where the cat can scratch -- me -- once in awhile, and I can take limps, since I'm still using those walking poles, outside for awhile. Feb 7, 2016 - 9:48:08 AM

EducationWords of Wisdom Carved into the Teacher's DeskI can't tell you how many times I've heard my students talk about the utter idiocy of their classes, the uselessness of the material being taught, how they hated so-and-so book, bla bla bla. This is usually when I explain the point of High School to my students. It is not the material that holds value but the content of the subject. Math teaches you logic -- the innate ability to process the path of going from A to B to C. The Sciences teach you to question the universe and not to take things at face value; to find out how and why things do the things they do. The Humanities teach you to appreciate and learn from your past; to figure out where you came from so you have a stronger outlook to see where you're going. English teaches you how to communicate your thoughts in a clear manner, but more so how to argue your points with supporting evidence. Physical Education teaches you to push past your limitations and to get up and be active. The Arts teach you finer life skills like confidence, creativity, spontaneity and cooperation. These are just some of the courses available out there and I know that I'm missing some... but you see my point. The growth inside these aspects are key if you plan on making it in society.Feb 7, 2016 - 9:45:20 AM

Book ReviewsMilt Gross Book Review: "The Devil Wins" by Reed Farrel Coleman for the late Robert ParkerWhat to me is a mystery is how the other writer, Reed Farrel Coleman, was able to write in what appears to be precisely the same style as did the late Robert Parker. The Devil Wins, by G.P. Putnam's Sons, NY, is so new you can't renew it from the library. It is one of 13 Jesse Stone novels. The late Parker also wrote six Sunny Randall novels with which I'm not familiar, seven westerns of which I've read a couple, many Spenser mysteries that take place in and around Boston of which I've read most, four non-fiction books, and ten "also by Robert Parker" books.Feb 7, 2016 - 9:43:00 AM

R.P. BenDedekMagic City Morning Star Book Basket 2016 - No. 3In this week's Book Basket we have the links to two book reviews and one author article as well as the listing of four books, which are: "An Unfortunate War" by Joe East; "I am Pat" by Patricia Kampmeier; "Dark Lands: Requiem" by Lyn I. Kelly and "A Faint Echo" by J.A. SedlerFeb 5, 2016 - 11:37:43 PM

Guest ColumnFrench appeasement deja vueThe French intent to recognize Palestinian statehood in Judea & Samaria, if the Israel-Palestinian negotiations fail, reflects the French policy of appeasing Palestinian terrorism (since the 1960s) and Islamic terrorism (since 1978). Rather than sheltering France from terrorism, France's appeasement policy - more than any other European country - has fueled anti-French and anti-Western terrorism. French policy has rewarded the 100-year-old systematic Palestinian hate-education, incitement and terrorism. It prejudges the outcome of negotiations and minimizes Palestinian incentive to negotiate.Feb 5, 2016 - 8:41:00 AM

InternationalThe Shamrak ReportUS News & World Report places Israel in the world's top ten power-wise, mostly because of its military. Israel was also ranked #25 in the world's "best countries" list of 2016. The IDF received a score of 9.7 -- similar to the US, and second only to Russia's military, which received a perfect 10....Eight Hamas terrorists were reported missing after a tunnel collapsed in northern Gaza following several days of heavy rain and flooding. Israel asserts that in the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has begun efforts to restore its military capability by building tunnels into Israel as well as replenishing its arsenal of rockets.Feb 5, 2016 - 8:02:35 AM

Ed FeulnerAmerica's Decline: Economic Freedom in Eclipse"Restoring economic freedom is prerequisite to revitalizing and brightening America's future," writes Index editor Anthony Kim. "2016 is the year to reaffirm the principles of limited government, free enterprise, and rule of law so that we can reconstitute an America where freedom, opportunity, and prosperity flourish."Feb 5, 2016 - 7:57:02 AM

NewsRobin Coste Lewis's "On the Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari" Chosen Best American Poetry"Robin Coste Lewis's extraordinary poem 'On the Road to Sri Bhuvaneshwari' reinvents the life cycle," said Elizabeth Metzger, poetry editor for the Quarterly Journal. "I selected this poem for the Quarterly Journal because it offers, with patience and precision, the gift of mutual reincarnation, of infinite and translatable intimacy. Each time I travel through it, I think of the powerful, transformative cycle of reading -- this is what poetry is, this is what we can be, this is the labor of remembering and becoming."Feb 5, 2016 - 7:54:31 AM

Guest Column"We're not in Iowa Anymore" I see Trump as a transitional president if elected, a president CEO who allows America to swab the decks clean as we right our political ship of state with sails filled with the collective energy and genius of the American people. If America limits bureaucratic power and regulation, secures its borders, enacts tax reform, strengthens its military and fires up its economy we will have a situation that facilitates America's pursuit of its loftier ideological aspirations whether grounded in the constitution, conservatism or both. Without these basic reforms all talk of who is more conservative, more religious or more constitutionally grounded than the next candidate means absolutely nothing.Feb 2, 2016 - 10:28:01 PM

EntertainmentComedian Ron "Tater Salad" White at Bangor's Cross Insurance Center July 30, 2016BANGOR, ME -- The City of Bangor and Spectra Venue Management, managers of Cross Insurance Center, are excited to announce that Comedian Ron "Tater Salad" White, best known as the cigar smoking, scotch drinking funnyman from the Blue Collar Comedy Tour phenomenon, will be coming to Bangor's Cross Insurance Center this summer, July 30, 2016 with his stand-up show. The comedian's stand-up act will take place on the first Saturday of this year's fair and will add an exciting element to the annual community event. The Bangor State Fair will take place July 29-August 7.Feb 2, 2016 - 10:16:05 PM

Jim KouriPolitical cover up at State Dept. to benefit Hillary Clinton during primariesA lot of the news coverage, especially by the national news media, is obviously slanted to make it sound as if the email scandal is a concoction of the Republican Party. "On its face the Clinton campaign's statements are mendacious. The FBI agents, the inspector general for the intelligence community and members of the CIA, NSA and other spy agencies are not part of the Republican Party. The only conspiracy is the Clinton-State Department lies and political spin," said former police deputy chief and political strategist Joey Nathaniel.Feb 2, 2016 - 10:10:21 PM

Book ReviewsMartha Stevens-David Review: "White Ashes" by John D. MoultonI sincerely feel that this ""timely, captivating" love story would make a wonderful movie! Kudos to Mr. Moulton, job well-done! Having read literally thousands of books since the age of eight, I feel that "White Ashes" is nothing short of a "masterpiece" in that the author, John D. Moulton, really was well-prepared when he sat to write this book.Jan 31, 2016 - 7:28:01 AM

Down the RoadWalking to walkWalking! I've done a lot of that in my too-short life, Katahdin (notice, one word, meaning Greatest Mountain...not Mount Katahdin as those new guys like to say and write) a half-dozen times, several trips up Mount Washington, and several high mountains along the Appalachian Trail in Maine. Been there, done dat. Now I'm learning to walk all over again. It's a little hard because I'm leaning on a couple of walking poles that make things a bit easier. No woods walking yet, because everybody -- a doctor or two and Dolores -- think I'll fall in the woods.Jan 31, 2016 - 7:25:25 AM

StateAn Associate's Degree: Thomas College with Maranacook High SchoolThomas College and Maranacook High School in Readfield, Maine are pleased to announce the Pathways Program, an innovative and collaborative pathway to an Associate in Arts degree at Thomas College. The Pathways Program will allow students to pursue their Associate's degree at Thomas while completing their high school diploma at Maranacook.Jan 31, 2016 - 7:23:03 AM

R.P. BenDedekAustralia My Country - A PoemAfter reading several online articles this week involving Politically Correct outrage in Australia, I sat down and wrote the following poem, all the while wondering what Dorothea Mackellar would have written if she were still alive today.Jan 31, 2016 - 7:20:32 AM

Book ReviewsMilt Gross Book Review: "A" is for Alibi by Sue GraftonThey all, including this first one, had some things in common. First, there is the last and final action. I think I've read varieties of this in Grafton's other books, but in this scene, Millhone is hiding in a trash can on a beach from the bad guy. I love this ending, "He lifted the lid. The beams from his headlights shone against his golden cheek. He glanced over at me. In his right hand was a butcher knife with a ten-inch blade. "I blew him away."Jan 31, 2016 - 7:17:30 AM

R.P. BenDedekMagic City Morning Star Book Basket 2016 - No. 2In this weeks book basket you will find links to two author articles and four book reviews as well as publicity material and links to nine books. Books listed in this basket are: "Lords of the Creek" by Tony Nwaka; "The Moral Vacuum" by Martyn Gabe; "A Journey Through the Life of Jesus" by Mike Folmer; "Down the U-Bend of Your Mind: A Look at Self-Examination" By Kevin Barnard; "A Song in the Dark" by June Davis; "Beloved Enemy: A Conflict of Love and Duty" By Sheila Munds-Belbin; "Quintessential Bellydance: Beginner Class Companion" By Evyenia Karmi; "An Epistle Concerning The Purpose Of Life" By Randy Sweigard and "Intrusion" By Lanayre Liggera.Jan 29, 2016 - 6:31:02 AM

FeaturesWho am I?What you are speaks so loud that the world can't hear what you say. They are looking at your walk not listening to your talk. They are judging by your actions every day. The sun does not fight and bite, complain or disclaim, pout or shout, plunder and squander. Cheat and beat, isolate and segregate, scheme and steal, hate and late, block and stop, push and shove, punish and banish, dismantle and disown. It simply shines every day on the just and on the unjust. Always in a state of diffusing energetic laughter.Jan 29, 2016 - 3:05:31 AM

Ed FeulnerGetting Back to "E Pluribus Unum"Something fundamental has changed at the heart of what it means to be an immigrant. For the first two centuries or so of our history, individuals found success in the United States through assimilation, while simultaneously maintaining their heritage. Today, however, that is less and less the case. For at least the last four decades, the federal government has been inflaming the balkanization of our country by encouraging immigrants to view themselves more as aggrieved ethnic groups than as aspiring Americans.Jan 29, 2016 - 2:53:36 AM

InternationalThe Shamrak ReportListing terrorist attacks in Israel along with attacks by the Islamic State in France, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said they showed "we are in a world war." "There are more and more terrorist attacks all over the world. In France, Burkina Faso, in Jakarta, in Israel, it keeps happening and it shows we need to learn to live with it," Valls said. -- Increasing numbers of European women will find it necessary or expedient to be covered in the veil while out in public; and soon this will be a necessity for all women simply for safety. At first a trickle, and soon a flood, will choose to convert to Islam and marry Muslim men, who will be seen as having the most prestige, connections, influence, and soon wealth and power.Jan 29, 2016 - 2:50:07 AM

BusinessGlobal confidence in Israel's economyUnlike Israel, other advanced economies have exhausted their engines of growth, experience the crisis of the commodities and the burden of rapidly aging societies, which requires larger immigration of (mostly uneducated) populations which may pose a threat to homeland security and -- in the long run - further burden social welfare services.Jan 29, 2016 - 2:45:44 AM

Jim KouriISIS builds stronghold in Libya: Obama and Hillary ignore their handiworkUnfortunately, despite his rhetoric to the contrary, after toppling yet another dictator, President Obama allowed the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria's (ISIS's) international jihad to spread into Afghanistan, North Africa and now Libya. It followed Obama's toppling of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak which led to thousands dying at the hands of Islamic terrorists and the Muslim Brotherhood rising to power.Jan 25, 2016 - 12:12:01 AM

Book ReviewsMilt Gross Book Review: "Night and Day" by the late Robert ParkerThis is one of seven Jesse Stone novels, set in a small coast town northeast of Boston, Paradise, MA. A woman school principal, Betsy Ingersoll, checks under her students' dresses at the beginning of the tale. Her husband is a high- powered attorney, who, of course, urges, threatens, and in other ways tries to get Stone, the police chief, to "lay off" his wife, after Stone begins to investigate her actions. Like all Parker books, Night and Day is fast, plot easy to understand, and a number of "wise guy" type comments. My kind of book.Jan 24, 2016 - 1:20:02 AM

Jim KouriHillary Clinton's email fiasco worse than originally suspectedWhen the airline industry became nervous over the costs of implementing the Commission's recommendations, the White House sent a letter to Air Transport Association saying there were no mandates only suggestions being offered for the benefit of the airlines and airports. The day after letter to the Air Transport Association was received, Trans World Airlines donated $40,000 to the Democrat National Committee. By the time of the Clinton's presidential re-election, other airlines had given large donations to Democrat Party committees: $265,000 from American Airlines, $120,000 from Delta Air Lines, $115,000 from United Air Lines, $87,000 from Northwest Airlines. According to an analysis done for the Boston Globe by the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks donations, a total of $627,000 was donated to the Democrats by major airlines right after the Clinton administration shelved the Commission report and recommendations.Jan 24, 2016 - 1:17:06 AM

Guest ColumnLand for peace in the Middle East?The width of pre-1967 Israel (8-15 miles) is equal to the length of DFW Airport in Texas, the distance between JFK and La Guardia Airports, Wall Street and Columbia University, the Kennedy Center and RFK Stadium, less than the distance between downtown London and Heathrow Airport. Former Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, the late General Earl Wheeler told President Lyndon Johnson: "The minimum requirements for Israel's defense include most of the West Bank, the whole of Gaza and the Golan Heights." 100 retired US Generals and Admirals cautioned Israel against withdrawing from Judea & Samaria, stating that is would be impossible to demilitarize the area effectively.Jan 24, 2016 - 1:15:06 AM

InternationalThe Shamrak ReportWhile the US government complains about a proposed Israeli transparency law regarding non-governmental organizations operating in Israel, it turns out that the US government itself planned to use NGOs in Israel to manipulate Israeli policy, by sparking demonstrations among Palestinians! A major uproar exploded across the political scene recently when Donald Trump called for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States." There was deafening silence on the official proclamation by PA president Mahmoud Abbas: "If there is an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, we won't agree to the presence of one Israeli in it."Jan 24, 2016 - 1:10:34 AM

Down the RoadTrying to retireWhen Dolores visits Hannaford's in Belfast, I wait in the car...too hard to limp fast enough to keep up with her. I've seen these middle age and older guys walking from and to their cars and pickups. I wonder if I had any of these geezers as students when I taught, too many years ago. I also want to introduce Dolores to Wolf Neck State Park down in Freeport. You may know Freeport for L.L.Bean. I know it for Wolf Neck State Park, where there are quiet trails through the woods to the ocean...or there were when I was last there.Jan 24, 2016 - 1:07:46 AM

InternationalTime To Be Sovereign Again By Varda EpsteinHow could you possibly expect Europe or America to think of Judea and Samaria as part of Israel, if you yourself do not declare them so, loudly and proudly? How can we blame John Kirby for calling Tekoa, "the West Bank," as though it were in Jordan? Now we do know why Bibi won't implement the findings of the Levy Commission. We know he's afraid to poke a hornet's nest and further isolate Israel from the international community. But Dafna Meir's murder teaches all of us that we must put the truth above our fear.Jan 23, 2016 - 5:49:01 AM

Kenneth TellisThe Kebekois are looking for praise in all the wrong placesNow, we have Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau attempting to use the U.S. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to get some mileage for herself by using a song that she wrote for her daughter and sang on Martin Luther King, Jr Day to garner publicity for herself. Of course it did not sound like a song but rather a dirge, which made her whole attempt at singing a fiasco. Even her singing was of very poor quality. But the dirge that she sang is way too late now, because Martin Luther King, Jr died on April 4, 1968.Jan 23, 2016 - 5:39:56 AM

Book ReviewsMilt Gross Book Review: "The Bazaar of Bad Dreams" by Stephen KingBazaar of Bad Dreams is the strangest Stephen King book I've ever read, all 495 pages. Most of these "short" stories I thought were good. Some were too strange for my tired old mind. This is not my favorite Stephen King tale, and, to be honest, I'm not sure which one was. But it was a full-length book. I recall waking on our late-night sofa after reading one of them and feeling, well, kind of spooked. Which I would guess was King's intention.Jan 17, 2016 - 12:12:51 AM

InternationalThe Shamrak ReportA large-scale dairy project will be built at a cost of $150 million in South Sudan, a country whose milk production is very low. The project is being designed for Indian developers and it is expected to integrate several Israeli dairy companies. It is one of the largest on the African continent and is expected to include five dairy farms, each housing some 2,000 cows. Muslim scholar gets 1 year in jail for warning Islam is moving 'far backwards,' with influential Islamic center claiming he 'insulted.' An Egyptian court has reduced the jail term for a Muslim scholar convicted of "insulting Islam" on his television show from five years to one. That came as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has repeatedly urged reforms in interpretation of the faith.Jan 17, 2016 - 12:10:40 AM

BusinessHigh return on US investment in IsraelThe annual US investment in Israel -- erroneously defined as "foreign aid" - has yielded one of the highest rates of return on US investments overseas. Israel is no longer a supplicant, transforming itself from a national security and economic consumer to a national security and economic producer, generating substantial dividends, which exceed the annual investment by its lead investor, the US. In 2016, Israel's Air Force, which flies US-made aircraft, is the most cost-effective, battle-tested laboratory of the US Air Force and defense industries. It shares with them -- real time online - operational, maintenance and repair lessons, which enhance US battle performance and upgrade research and development, global competitiveness, exports and employment base of the US defense industries (e.g., Lockheed-Martin, McDonnell Douglas, Bell Helicopter, Boeing Defense, Northrop Grumman, etc.).Jan 17, 2016 - 12:07:40 AM

Down the RoadWhere are the birds?I have a bird question to ask you, since your column is about birds. Where are they today? Why aren't they showing up as usual? For background, the sky is blue, no wind is blowing, and we're all waiting for that next storm to show up so the sky won't be blue much longer. Now the cat, whose name we change so much I now forget it. It may be "Pest." Or something else. She lies on a cushion that's on a stool that's by the window. Although she is usually asleep, I noticed this morning she spotted both the seagull and raven. Not bad for a cat that's asleep.Jan 17, 2016 - 12:05:03 AM

FeaturesSo the entire "Back to the Future" trilogy is now all in the pastBack to the Future II has anticipated interesting things for 2015, some of them, in some way, are now a reality. But there's two of them that would surely be interesting to have today but are nowhere to be found: flying cars and hoverboards. There are approximations, sure, but -- for example -- the anti-gravity-like tech, as it's portrayed in the film, we never even came close to developing it.Jan 15, 2016 - 7:52:10 AM

Book ReviewsMartha Stevens-David Review: "Erosion" by Julie M.This novel makes one stop and think about one's own upbringing and the way our own parents and families "loved" us. And I was happy to read on and find that if one can withstand all that "life" throws at you, you just might find happiness and fulfillment in the end. I found that the author "Julie M." had a "way with words" that very few authors have. Julie wrote about a little girl named "Kate," who is born into a family that doesn't know how to show her genuine love and affection. What they do know is how to "control" her every thought and action.Jan 15, 2016 - 7:35:42 AM

CommunityG.E.A.R. offers free Lives in the Balance presentation in EllsworthParents, caregivers and the community are invited to learn how Dr. Greene's "Collaborative & Proactive Solutions" approach is improving the way youth with behavioral challenges are being understood and treated in Maine. The presentation will be held Monday, Jan. 25 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School. Dr. Greene is the celebrated author of "The Explosive Child" and "Lost at School" and has appeared on nationally syndicated television shows such as "Oprah" and "Dateline."Jan 15, 2016 - 7:30:10 AM

R.P. BenDedekA Must Read: Anne Marie Waters' letter to Feminists It is so refreshing to hear a real feminist speaking honestly. It is so much better than listening to ideological propaganda which in the end is purely sociopathic. In the article titled: "A Message to Left-Wing Feminists" published by Anne Marie Waters on January 12th 2016, she makes the following (edited) statements toward the end of her article and I think every man and woman should not only read what follows but go read the entire article and get behind the author. Jan 13, 2016 - 8:05:05 AM

Guest ColumnThe volcano of Islamic terrorismMost Muslim policy-makers have not represented the will of the majority, which has been systematically suppressed/oppressed in most Muslim societies (including Muslim communities in Western countries). These Muslim societies have never experienced democracy, exposing the majority to tectonic eruptions of violence by rogue regimes and organizations. The lava of Islamic terrorism has consumed mostly Muslims in the abode of Islam, but it is aiming to sweep the abode of the "infidel," and is currently spreading into the streets of the USA, Europe, Russia, China, India, Africa, Asia and Australia.Jan 13, 2016 - 7:23:55 AM

Jim KouriClinton criminal enterprise? Witness tampering and money launderingForeign oligarchs and governments, then donate to this Canadian charity. In this case, over 1,000 did -- contributing mega millions. I'm sure they did this out of the goodness of their hearts, and expected nothing in return. (Imagine Putin's buddies waking up one morning and just deciding to send untold millions to a Canadian charity). The Clinton Foundation then spends some of this money for legitimate good works programs. Experts estimate that The Clinton Foundation has donated no more than 15 percent of the donations to charitable pursuits. Much of the balance goes to enrich the Clinton's lavish salaries, and lavish lifestyle, particularly travel, and virtually all tax free. In on year alone, the foundation spent over $8 million in travel expenses.Jan 13, 2016 - 7:17:43 AM

Book ReviewsMilt Gross Book Review: "The Quartet" by Joseph J. EllisWere we too uneducationable (new word invented by me) to understand or was the world of education trying to simplify history so much they ended by creating a fictional history? "Ellis has given us a gripping and dramatic portrait of one of the most crucial and misconstrued periods in American history: the years between the end of the Revolution and the formation of the federal government." This story is too different from what we were all taught as young people to miss. For $27.95, the price on the cover and $18.37 for the hardcover at Amazon.com and $13.99 for the Kindle Edition. The front of the book lists ten others, all about early America, by the same author.Jan 10, 2016 - 1:00:11 AM

Jim KouriCorrupt journalism? Maine's GOP governor being 'framed' as racist by media"Once again the Democrats are attempting to drive a wedge between the races. It's almost comical because one can accurately guess how far these liberal plantation overseers will go to create racial unrest in order to increase their campaign donations and get voters to the voting booths," said Mike Baker, a political consultant and strategist.Jan 10, 2016 - 12:57:19 AM

InternationalThe Shamrak ReportWhile the world is focused on the product labeling going on in Europe, the U.S. boycott has been continuing unabated since 1967. The State Department stated bluntly: "The stipulation requiring that foreign assistance funds provided to Israel only to be used in the geographic areas which were subject to the Government of Israel's administration prior to June 5,1967, has been the policy of every administration since 1967."---International corporations look to Israel for Innovation - 25 of the world's largest multinational corporations gathered in Tel Aviv on December 16th, to be introduced to 15 handpicked Israeli startups. Senior representatives from firms such as AVG, Ford, IBM, GE, Tyco, GM, Coca-Cola, Singtel, PayPal, Yahoo, ProSieben and Kimberly-Clark participated in the second annual networking and deal-making Jan 10, 2016 - 12:55:29 AM

Down the RoadA walk worth remembering this new yearMy boot heel got caught between two boulders. Kind of an interesting situation, way up above the pond and not far north of the ocean, and I couldn't move. I've tripped on the north side of Baldpate, dropped a blowdown log with sharp branches on my leg west of Long Pond, had a hanging six-inch branch bang me on the head pretty far up on the AT in western Maine, slipped and fell on the ice in the Birds' Acre woods in Ellsworth, and a not enjoyed few more down times I hadn't been expecting.Jan 10, 2016 - 12:52:42 AM

R.P. BenDedekMagic City Morning Star Book Basket 2016 - No. 1The Book Basket this week has the links to one book review done since our last book basket on December 31st 2015, plus links to three author articles published in the same period. This week the basket only lists three book releases, and they are: "The Power of Me!" By Russell Aitken, Francesca Traill, Nicolina Bernabei-Myszka; "White Ashes" By John D. Moulton and "Apex Predator" By Kelvin KwaJan 10, 2016 - 12:50:49 AM

Guest ColumnQuestions About Race and Racial Prejudice in the AfterlifeWhat I don't believe is that any of us will get very far in any afterlife without dealing with race and ethnicity, and without our willing and assiduous effort to correct where we were on these issues when we passed away here on Earth. Which takes me back to those who voted for the I'm going to wake up there more or less the way I am here, race and all. It seems to me that this group of voters are choosing to believe in a difficult future for themselves. If we are plunked into substantially the same bodies we had here, then how easy is it going to be for us to get past racial and ethnic prejudices, even up there? How easily will we be willing to change? Jan 8, 2016 - 6:08:50 AM

Jim KouriFormer U.S. Marine officer confirms Hillary Clinton lied about Benghazi"I put TAM in the same class as the Southern Poverty Law Center -- an anti-American group that views Christians as evil and counterterrorists as radicals," said Snopes. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) claims on their web site that they have been tracking Klein for several years and have labeled two organizations with which he is affiliated as "hate groups." SPLC is considered to be a left- wing front group for neo-Marxists that has displayed anti-Semitic and anti-American beliefs while defending true hate groups.Jan 8, 2016 - 5:56:05 AM

Kenneth TellisThe deep-seated Canadian bias and ambivalence towards AmericansToday, I discovered a letter addressed to Patricia P. I wrote the letter a few years ago. The lady's grandfather was a Canadian Prime Minister who in the fifties was a Canadian diplomat stationed at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C. He also appears to have been a Soviet agent. His hatred and biased thinking was quite evident. She came out with the theory that only if you denied being a Canadian you would succeed in AMERICA. I for one do not believe that to be true because if it were so then John James Audobon of Haiti, Israel Baline (Irving Berlin) of Russia, Samuel Ichi Hayakawa of Canada, and Thomas Paine of England would not be the successes that they were if the U.S.A. was so insular.Jan 8, 2016 - 5:52:45 AM

FeaturesLeaving us in suspenseSuspense brings tension and the need for resolution, and it's exactly that which make a book become a real page-turner. One of the best examples I can offer is JRR Tolkien's "The Lord Of The Rings". Not just because the reader wants to know how everything pans out, but because you are following the trail of various characters as they make they individual journeys into the unknown. There's suspense right there, but when the writer throws characters into some intense moment and then leaves them hanging there, while the writer moves on to some other group that you were left desperate to know more about just a couple of chapters ago, the author offers the reader a double dose - one of exasperation and the other of relief as readers rejoin those they cared most about not that long before.Jan 7, 2016 - 5:31:20 AM